The Guardian - Australia news live updates: NRMA says any fuel excise cuts likely to be ‘eaten up’ by soaring prices; four Covid deaths

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Australia news live updates: NRMA says any fuel excise cuts likely to be ‘eaten up’ by soaring prices; four Covid deaths

Link [2022-03-14 08:58:40]

NRMA says any fuel excise cuts likely to be ‘eaten up’ by soaring prices; NSW health minister ‘not keen’ on reintroducing Covid restrictions as state records one death, Victoria one and Queensland two; sixth Japanese encephalitis case in NSW; cruise ship ban could lift soon. Follow all the day’s news

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NSW emergency services minister Steph Cooke has said there will be an independent review of the response to the floods in northern NSW.

Cooke was speaking to 2GB earlier today, and lamented that the government “can always do better next time”.

I think we can always do better next time.

There’s no question of that. That’s why we’re looking to do an independent review of the immediate response and the immediate aftermath in terms of what was deployed and when and what discussions were had.

[Different agencies] worked together extremely well during this difficult environment and I think that trying to cast blame is not actually helpful.

I am sorry to say it but sometimes the media like to put the point of blame back on various people. There will be a review and no doubt there will be learnings again, as there is in every crisis but it is not helpful to have a blame game going on and all through the two-year pandemic, you wouldn’t have heard me say a word about any other state government’s views and not criticising the federal government was very much at the forefront as well.